Good Gig Chats: Jayne Doe

Ahead of their May 24 gig at LowLife basement bar in the CBD, garage punk rockers Jayne Doe lift the lid on what went into their punchy new track, ‘User’ 

Photos by Nash Blight

Congrats on the release of ‘User’! It’s a wicked track. How did it come to life? 

We released our EP last year, and it was funny – we did that record before we even played a gig because we were jamming all the time. But as soon as that EP came out, we felt like we’d already written better stuff. We don’t even play most of our EP now. 

We wanted to go to a real studio next time and make something we’re proud of – ‘User’ was the song we’d hear the most feedback from people at shows. So, that was the one we put out first. 

What’s the story behind the song? 

I wrote most of the lyrics to that song. A lot of it stems from the experiences I’ve had – it’s about how a user ends up using the people around him more than the substances they’re on. 

What do you hope people take away from the track? 

I think generally, a lost thing in music at the moment is anger. I don’t think people even like to associate that word with music anymore. But I think it’s a beautiful way to tap into something real: anger doesn’t have to be a bad thing. It just means that if you need something to get loose to, to let go of some anger, hearing someone scream in a song might help you with your anger itself. So, if you’re frustrated yeah, listen to ‘User’. 

You’re taking to LowLife on May 24 to celebrate the single release. What should people expect from a Jayne Doe gig? 

When we put on a show, we want to make sure you’re seeing a show. We don’t want to just stand up there and play our instruments, say thank you, and you go home and say ‘Why did I spend $15 on a ticket?’. We want to make sure you’re jumping around and that you feel what we’re putting out. And we want you to send that energy back to us when we’re up there because it makes everything bigger and crazier. 

You’ve invited Looch and Jongo Bones & The Barefoot Bandits to help warm up the crowd. How do you think they’ll add to the vibe of the gig?

Looch is such a machine, they have everything. They have their own style, their own crowd, their own music. We see what they do to crowds – it’s great. And the same with Jongo, they’re explosive. They bring a Black Flag energy which I don’t think anyone is doing in Adelaide right now. 

Why was LowLife where you wanted to host this gig?

I actually met the manager there and we got along really well. LowLife gives great freedom for artists to put on the show they want to and they’re great at promoting gigs – they supply the sound, they make the Facebook event, which helps you focus more on the stuff you should be. And it’s a basement bar, you know, it’s great. It’s low ceilings, everyone squashes in, and the sound doesn’t escape the room. It’s great.

What’s the Jayne Doe backstory? 

We don’t take things too seriously. I barely even think that we call ourselves musicians – we’re just people who like to do what we do. We’re all friends who formed a band ad we’ve known each other for years. When we jammed for the first time, it kind of exploded with what we are now. It came really naturally. So, we don’t take ourselves too seriously in that respect. We just go out there and do what we’d want to hear from a band. 

‘User’ is your first single since your Persona Non Grata EP dropped last year. What’s next for Jayne Doe musically?

We’ve actually recorded six singles! But we’re in no rush – we want to make sure they’re exactly what we wanted. It’s a great way for us to space out these releases and, eventually, build an album. But we don’t want to think that far ahead. We’ve got these singles and what that means for us is that we get to sort of help the Adelaide scene. We can keep having single launches, invite some bands and get people out to see live music – that’s one of the most important things.

See Jayne Doe play live at LowLife Basement Bar this May 24, supported by Looch and Jongo Bones & The Barefoot Bandits. Tickets are $15 and you can buy them here. Listen to ‘User’ here.

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